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I was wondering if you'd be able to give us an idea of the OJS 3.0 Roadmap. At present we are running OJS 2.3.8 and would like to upgrade in the next six months or so. So the question is whether it is most sensible to wait for a stable version of 3.0 or to upgrade to 2.4.x. I've looked at the OJS Roadmap on the Wiki but 3.0 isn't mentioned at all for 2014.

We've temporarily pulled OJS 3.0 from the roadmap pending the results of a UI/UX review; when that's finished (apparently a few weeks from now) we'll put some estimates and schedules back on the roadmap.

I'd suggest upgrading to 2.4.x. Even after OJS 3.0 is released, we'll be maintaining that line for stability for quite some time, in order to give journals a window to upgrade at their leisure; since the two versions will look quite different, there will be training requirements and some growing pains.

Alec, and others,Has there been an update about the roadmap for 3.0? I'm asking because we (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) are considering a pilot evaluation of OJS and would like to figure out whether we should eval 2.4.4 or 3.0a (or the latest on github). Assuming the eval goes well, we'd like to transition to a live production instance of OJS some time this year. Should we go with 3.0 (with the understanding that there will possibly be bugs and rough edges) or with 2.4.4 with the intent of later upgrading to 3.0 once it is stable? Also, could someone point me to a list of major features introduced in 3.0? Thanks!Jason

OJS 3.0 is not yet at the beta stage -- we're trying hard to get the beta concretely scheduled and hope to publish a rough plan for that soon. Currently it's reasonably stable -- dare I say even usable? -- but we may well come up with some data model changes prior to the beta and won't be able to provide a user-friendly data migration strategy to cross those. There are also some bits and pieces that are distinctly unfinished: subscription management, permanent identifier management, etc; if those are crucial to you then I'd suggest staying with 2.x until at least 3.0b is released.

As for what's coming in 3.0, the biggest single thing is a comprehensive user interface rewrite. It finally looks modern. This takes the OJS interface up to the level of the current OMP release and has already gone considerably beyond that. Numerous other fundamental changes are also included: submissions are now considered to be a bundle of files rather than a single one; the workflow is much more flexible, including the ability to create roles and define how they interact with the editorial stages; etc.

The best thing to do, I suspect, is to try installing the current master branch of OJS (which will eventually be released as OJS 3.0b) to see what you can expect, both for functionality and stability, with the understanding that both are moving targets. To be clear, we will not be able to commit to supporting you if you decide to go for production with pre-release code -- but if you decide that's an acceptable level of risk, that may be OK.

As for 2.x, we expect we'll be continuing to maintain it for a considerable amount of time even after OJS 3.0 is released. This will be to smooth the transition for journals that need to fit a major change in with their own production schedules and to let OJS 3.0 mature a little bit before we mothball OJS 2.x.

We've been working on new Copyediting workflow designs, and soliciting feedback from users; that's taken us a little longer than expected, but we need to make sure we get it right. Once that work is specified, we can put together an estimate on the next OJS 3.0 development milestones. It's our main focus at the moment and we hope to have concrete dates shortly. Our current plan is to release a second alpha, followed by a beta, as soon as possible next year.

If you're curious, I'd suggest checking out the master branch in the github repository for a look.

Hi, Alec.We've been using OJS not for a long time and I wonder if it is possible to upgrade from 2.4.5 version to 3.0a or 3.0b when they become stable. I mean if we can transit all the data and archieves or we have to fulfill all the information once more. It may seem to be a strange question. Maybe you can provide some lins to read more about it if these discussions took place on forum, unfortunately I haven't found.Thanks.

Hi AlecHere in Denmark we plan to establish a national server for over 180 scholarly journals. The steering committee has chosen the OJS server as the platform and plans to begin the installation August 2015 but only if OJS 3.0 at that time is in a stable version. Do you think it will be ready in August? If so I believe we can expect some financial funds to support improvements of the OJS for example by developing new plugins.RegardsNiels Erik

We're currently planning to release OJS 3.0 beta in the summertime, but the stable release of OJS 3.0 won't come until later.

We'll be providing fairly comprehensive upgrade tools to ensure that journals can upgrade, but as you plan out new developments, I'd suggest checking with us first -- if it's possible to target version 3.0 it'll save a lot of rewriting. If you're able to launch with OJS 2.x with limited customization, then upgrade to 3.0 after it's gone stable and do most of your further development there, it'll be better future-proofed.

I hope that you'll find some of the developments you want to do are already in our list for OJS 3.0 -- and if not, we can start thinking about how to approach them for the whole community. Please keep us in the loop.

If it helps to make our progress on OJS 3.0 concrete, I'd suggest installing a copy from the git master branch. It's stable enough to explore.